Toronto Businesses Are Boarding Up Their Windows In The Downtown Core (PHOTOS)
Some companies are already making preparations downtown. Multiple big-name stores have been seen taking steps to prevent possible looting by boarding up their businesses in Toronto. Amid the current state of civil unrest south of the border, retail spaces seem to be anticipating a similar outcome in the 6ix.Places such as Best Buy, The Bay, and Eaton Centre, which are all within the same downtown core location, have been spotted taking the precautions. They aren't the only ones, though. Saks Fifth Avenue, Harry Rosen, and other high end retailers have done the same.Locals have shared photos of barricaded storefronts on some of the city's busiest streets, including Yonge, Queen, Dundas and Bloor.Although more retailers in Ontario have been given the green light to reopen, many of them still look closed. Huge plywood boards have been spotted completely obstucting access to store window displays.Although there have been no issues in Toronto, violence erupted at the end of an anti-racism protest in Montreal, and windows were reportedly smashed.
The Justice For Regis rally, which happened on Saturday, May 30 in Toronto, drew thousands of peaceful demonstrators.However, it has been rumoured that more protests will be underway in the near future, and businesses already seem to be taking precautions.
Narcity reached out to a spokesperson for CF Fairview, which owns the Eaton Centre. They informed us that while they did boost security, they were not the ones that blocked off the store displays. That decision would be up to the discretion of the individual retailers themselves.
CF told Narcity that they have "implemented additional safety measures around the perimeter of all of our shopping centres in Ontario. That said, we did not make any changes to store fronts."
Narcity has reached out to all of the stores pictured for additional information.
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Some shops were even seen blockading their entrances before protests began last week. Some of them are abandoned businesses that have gone under since the pandemic. One picture from April 1 shows that some businesses began this precaution in the early stages of lockdown.
Meanwhile, Ford has already spoken out about the topic, stating that Ontario won't tolerate that kind of behaviour.
*This article's cover image is for illustrative purposes only.